Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to the arts of warning a chair occupant that the chair is tilted beyond a predetermined angle, correcting a chair tilted beyond the predetermined angle to an acceptable position, and storing the history of a chair tilting beyond the predetermined angle.
People, especially children, have a natural tendency to tilt back or side-to-side in their chairs. The consequences for tilting the chair beyond a safe inclination angle are personal injury to the person in the chair and possibly others in the close proximity when the chair supports are no longer in stable contact with the floor and the chair falls. This hazardous situation exists for tiltable chairs as well as non-tiltable. Even tiltable chairs are designed for a safe inclination angle beyond which may result in the chair tipping over. There is also a possibility that the chair may be damaged as a result of the fall or by the increased stresses on the legs designed for all legs to be on the floor or within a predetermined angular position at all times.
There has been a long-felt need for an inexpensive, reliable way to prevent accidents due to chairs, especially chairs not intended to be tilted, herein referred to as non-tiltable chairs, tipping over. Previous chair innovations have focused on inventing tiltable chairs to make tilting safe, but not on monitoring systems to warn of tilting or to correct the chair to avoid tipping. Even the tiltable chair innovations do not eliminate the possibility of a tiltable chair from tipping over.
The natural tendency to tilt has been addressed by chair prior art with independent tilting mechanisms that allow the chair legs to remain in contact with the floor as the individual tilts back. However, it is costly to replace non-tiltable chairs with new tiltable chairs, and nearly impossible to retrofit a tilting mechanism onto a non-tiltable chair. School districts, for example, cannot justify the expense to replace functional non-tiltable chairs with new or retrofitted tiltable chairs. Also, children in the class may be distracted by the constant rocking motion of the tiltable chairs, thereby, creating a new problem for teachers. As stated above, even the tiltable chair innovations do not eliminate the possibility of a tiltable chair from tipping over. None of the chair prior art totally addresses the problem of tilting safety in chairs.
The prior art search was extended beyond the Chair and Seat Classification (Class 297) to Tent Canopy, Umbrella and Cane (Class 135), Electricity: circuit and breakers (Class 200), and Communications: Electrical (Class 340), as well as numerous keyword searches. Many tilt alarms have been patented ranging from vehicle tilt alarms (U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,629) to walker imbalance alarms (U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,571) to walker tilt alarms (U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,219) to toilet seat lift alarms (U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,099). These patents disclose a mercury switch or the like to activate a signal when an electrical circuit is closed due to inclination or load change of the subject item. However, these prior art references are from different fields and contain no suggestions, either expressed or implied, that the references should be combined with a chair to create the present invention.
The present invention solves the unrecognized problem of how to monitor chair tilting, warn the user of unsafe conditions, and to help correct the chair to an acceptable position. The present invention provides an advantage (increased user safety) that was never before appreciated, and is the solution of long-felt need for an inexpensive, reliable way to help prevent accidents due to chairs tipping over.
The present invention relates to a chair tilt alarm comprising a switch with a movable conductive member that indicates inclination beyond a fixed angle and an alarm that alerts people, especially children, that the chair is tilted beyond a safe position. Such a device has beneficial applications in schools as well as in the home and in offices.
The gravity-actuated switch, embodied in the case attached to the chair bottom closes the electric circuit causing a transducer to produce a tilt sensor signal to indicate that a chair is inclined beyond a safe position.
The present invention comprises a power supply in electrical communication with an on-off switch, a tilt sensor, and an alarm. The alarm will be activated when the chair is tilted beyond a predetermined angular position. As the chair returns toward its righted position, the alarm will deactivate. The present invention can be shut off manually or remotely.
The alarm will emit sound, light, touch, scent or a combination to stimulate any or all of the user""s senses. An audio alarm can be in the form of a pre-recorded message to correct the chair. The audio alarm can also be a simple steady or intermittent tone, where the period between tones can vary and the volume of the tone can increase the longer the chair is in the undesirable tilted position. A visual alarm will use the same principles as the audio alarm where a light can be steady or intermittent like a strobe light. The intensity of the light and flashing period can be amplified the longer the chair is in the undesirable tilted position. Some embodiments can employ other known devices similar to the audio and visual devices emitting a local touch or scent to get the attention of the user. The variety of warning devices will accommodate the diverse student population with physical limitations such as hearing and vision.
Additional embodiments include data storage and transmission modules for reporting of chair tilting at a base station, and a counter-balance system to correct the chair to an acceptable position.
The present invention solves the unrecognized problem of how to monitor chair tilting and warn the user of an unsafe condition. The present invention provides an advantage (increased user safety) that was never before appreciated, and is the solution of long-felt need for an inexpensive, reliable way to help prevent accidents due to chairs tipping over.
The present invention also relates to other structures that would benefit from monitoring angular position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is low cost.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is attached easily to any chair (tiltable as well as non-tiltable chairs).
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is easy to use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is low maintenance.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is durable and reliable to warn the user of unsafe conditions.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that is inconspicuous.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that reports to a base station significant parameters regarding chair tilt angle, chair identification, occupant identification, time, date, and duration.
It is another object of the invention to provide a chair tilt alarm that helps to correct the angle of the chair with a counter-balance system.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.